The Senate has decided to limit the approval of bills concerning local holidays, aiming to make the Philippines more competitive, according to Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero.
“‘Yung holiday, nagkasundo ang Senado na limitahan ang mga holiday. Mahigit isang buwan na ang holiday sa buong bansa which makes Philippine companies and workers less competitive,” Escudero stated in a press briefing.
(The Senate has agreed to limit the holidays. Overall, the holidays in our country add up to over a month, which makes Philippine companies and workers less competitive.)
Escudero pointed out that, in addition to national and religion-related holidays, there are local holidays in every city, municipality, and province. He compared this with the United States, which commemorates all their heroes or presidents in just one day.
“Meron silang Presidents’ Day, lahat ng magagaling nilang presidente pinagsama-sama nila sa iisang araw na lang na holiday. Tayo hindi. May Araw ng Kagitingan, National Heroes’ Day, bawat bayani pag pinatay sila may holiday na naman, ‘di ba?” he remarked.
(The United States has Presidents’ Day, where they commemorate all their great presidents in just one day. In the Philippines, we honor our heroes on several occasions—Day of Valor, National Heroes’ Day, among others. We declare a holiday on the day each hero was killed.)
Escudero has requested a study on the holiday format in the US, acknowledging that this might cause division among the senators.
“Ang problema lang away ‘yan eh. Pero hindi naman kailangang gawin yan ngayon, simulan lang natin ang proseso,” he said.
(The problem is that it might cause a divide among us. But that does not need to be done right now. What is important is that we have already started the process.)
DOLE’s Perspective
For Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, there are both advantages and disadvantages to limiting local holidays.
“Alam naman natin na talagang kung ang holiday ay napakarami, naapektuhan ang productivity. On the other hand, ‘yung mga gustong magsipasok nakikinabang sa dagdag na insentibo dahil nagtrabaho sila ng holiday,” said Laguesma at a press conference.
(Holidays hamper productivity but workers also gain from its incentives.)
Labor Group Opposition
Labor group NAGKAISA opposed the proposal, arguing that holidays provide workers with a “much-needed respite from the daily grind.” The organization called on Congress to address other pressing issues, such as traffic woes in Metro Manila and job insecurity.
“Sa halip na pagtuunan ng pansin ang pagbabawas ng holidays, sana ay isaalang-alang ng ating mga senador at representante sa Kongreso ang kagat sa sikmura at nararamdaman ng mga manggagawa. Dapat nilang tutukan ang mga tunay na isyu tulad ng pagtulak at pagpapabilis ng P150 national wage recovery at diskriminasyon sa pasahod para tugunan ang mga poverty wages,” said Chairperson Sonny Matula.
(Instead of reducing holidays, lawmakers should focus on issues including the expediting of the P150 national wage recovery and wage discrimination.)
“Bukod dito, ang isyu ng kontraktwalisasyon ay isa ring napakalaking sanhi ng stress,” Matula added. “These are the issues that truly affect the day-to-day lives of Filipino workers and need immediate attention”.